Mulcair pledges to restore long gun registry

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says he will work to re-establish Canada’s long gun registry and all NDP candidates will have to support that position in the next federal election.

Speaking on the Radio Canada show Tout le Monde en Parle, Mulcair said the solution is to fix the irritants in the long gun registry – not scrap it.

“I will work to register firearms. The public and the police have the right to be protected,” he said.

The Conservative government’s decision to target Canada’s gun registry has sparked divisions within the NDP caucus in the past with some MPs from rural ridings breaking ranks with former NDP Leader Jack Layton on the issue and siding with the Conservatives.

However, Mulcair suggested that won’t be the case in the future.

“It is certain that if we run in an election with that as a platform, everyone will follow.”

Legislation tabled by the Conservatives has been adopted by Parliament. However, Quebec has challenged the decision to eliminate the data and has won a temporary reprieve from the courts.

Mulcair said the Conservative’s decision to scrap the gun registry is an ideological one.

“It is a monumental error and it is the first time in my political life that I see a government removing one of the public’s protections. All of the police forces across Canada, except for the Calgary police, want to maintain it because it protects them and it protects the public.”

Mulcair’s comments came as he appeared on Tout le Monde en Parle, one of the best watched shows in Quebec and one that often fuels Monday morning chats around the water cooler. Fast paced and totally unpredictable, where a politician can find themselves next to a Quebec celebrity or someone who has done something offbeat, it can make or break a political career. Former CBC chairman Guy Fournier literally flushed his career with the public broadcaster, resigning in the wake of controversy over comments he made on the show.

In the last federal election, Jack Layton’s appearance on the show gave the NDP campaign a boost. Gilles Duceppe and Michael Ignatieff appeared on the show but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has steadfastly refused.

After Liberal Leader Bob Rae appeared on the show in early December, his party gained support

To succeed on Tout le Monde en Parle you have to know your stuff, expect the unexpected, roll with it and ideally show a bit of personality and a sense of humor along the way.

However, Mulcair faced few tough or surprising questions from host Guy A. Lepage. Wearing a jacket and shirt without a tie and a blue button to mark Earth Day April 22, Mulcair appeared at ease, rarely straying far from the answers he honed on the leadership campaign trail.

One of the few exceptions was when Lepage asked him when he plans to move into Stornoway, the residence occupied by Canada’s leader of the official opposition. Describing it as a “magnificent” house, Mulcair said he plans to move in after Easter.

Asked if he was “a nightmare” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mulcair agreed.

“Mr. Harper and his team didn’t want me there, that’s certain,” he said. “The attacks against me in the middle of a leadership campaign testifies to his worry about me – and he has reason.”

Mulcair described today’s NDP as pragmatic and while the party will remain social democrat “we will try to bring the centre to us.”